How a Weather Call Turned One October Weekend Into Ho-Ho-Kus's Fall Centerpiece
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
"Due to the impending weather forecast this weekend and out of concern for the safety of participants, volunteers and families, the Ho-Ho-Kus Education Foundation has decided to postpone Richard's Run." The borough posted that line on September 24, 2026. It moved one 5K by two weeks, and it also changed the shape of October in Ho-Ho-Kus.
The new date is Sunday, October 11, at 8:30 a.m. That is the morning after The Hermitage holds its Harvest Fest. The borough's two event venues, The Hermitage on North Franklin Turnpike and Borough Hall on Warren Avenue, now host on back-to-back days. Six of the eight dated public events confirmed for October take place at one of those two addresses.
Richard's Run was first set for Sunday, September 27. The Ho-Ho-Kus Education Foundation's own race page still shows that date. The borough's September 24 notice and the updated race listing on RunSignup both give October 11, and registration is still open. This is the race's 21st year.
The race is named for Richard Stefanacci, a member of the family that founded Go4theGoal. The Go4theGoal foundation calls the local HHK5K "Richard's Run." The money raised goes to the Ho-Ho-Kus Education Foundation, and part of it goes to Go4theGoal's work on pediatric cancer.
The race starts at Borough Hall, 333 Warren Avenue. The listing says the route runs through Ho-Ho-Kus but does not publish a street-by-street course. If your street might be on the route, plan for a busier Sunday morning than usual.
The borough's August 17 roundup of 2026 Hermitage events lists Harvest Fest on October 10. A Patch community listing for the same day describes food trucks, music, a beer garden, a petting zoo and pumpkin painting at The Hermitage.
The start time is unclear. Patch says noon. MyBergen lists an Autumn Festival at 335 N. Franklin Turnpike on October 10 starting at 10 a.m. Check with The Hermitage before you set out. Either way, the festival takes most of Saturday.
The 5K starts less than a day later. Before the postponement, the race and the festival were 13 days apart. Now a family can do the festival on Saturday and the race on Sunday morning, and the two biggest draws of the month share one weekend.
Here is every dated public event confirmed for Ho-Ho-Kus this month, with its location:
That makes four events at The Hermitage, two on the Borough Hall block of Warren Avenue, and two at St. Bart's. Both St. Bart's events fall in the first eight days of October, before the October 10 to 11 weekend. After that weekend, every event is on Franklin Turnpike or Warren Avenue.
The race starts at Borough Hall on October 11, and the next event at that address comes twelve days later. The Ho-Ho-Kus Community Garden sits just to the left of Borough Hall at 333 Warren Avenue. It holds pumpkin picking on Friday, October 23, in two sessions at 3:30 and 4:30 p.m.
The borough's notice lists pumpkins, donuts, cider, games and a read-aloud. Costumes are encouraged. The notice says, in capital letters, "ALL ARE WELCOME. NO REGISTRATION NECESSARY!"
The farm stand runs at the same time, and it will be the garden's last one of 2026. Between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. it offers organically grown peppers, eggplant, squash, green beans, lettuce, chard, parsley and herbs. A family with a child in the 3:30 pumpkin session can stop at the stand on the way out.
A Bergen Mama profile from July 2025 says resident Allie Lim started the garden, and that municipal workers and volunteer gardeners built it and look after it. That article is more than a year old, so it does not show who is running the garden this season. It does explain why a vegetable garden sits next to the borough offices.
Pumpkin picking on October 23 is the only costume event confirmed for Ho-Ho-Kus this October. The listings checked for this post show no borough or Recreation Commission Halloween parade, trunk-or-treat or costume contest for 2026. If one is announced, it will likely appear on the borough's News Flash page.
Harvest Fest is The Hermitage's big daytime event this month. Its other three October events are in the evening. Tavern Night with the Enslows opens the month on Friday, October 2. The Murder Mystery Dinner on Saturday, October 17, at 6:30 p.m. is Halloween-themed, according to its Patch listing.
The month at The Hermitage ends on Monday, October 26, with a Genealogical Society of Bergen County talk about what is new at the New Jersey State Archives. It is free and open to the public, at 7 p.m. in The Hermitage Meeting Room. The talk is likely of most interest to anyone researching an old house or a family line. It also shows that The Hermitage is used as a meeting room on a Monday night, not only for weekend festivals.
The borough's August roundup also mentions "Legends & Lore Tours, Holiday Tours and more" at The Hermitage, without dates. Neither appeared with a 2026 date in the listings checked, so check The Hermitage's own site before planning around them.
The first eight days of October have a different center. St. Bartholomew's Blessing of the Animals runs on Sunday, October 4, from 11 a.m. to noon. The borough announced it on September 21. Four days later, on Thursday, October 8, St. Bart's holds a fish or chicken and chips fundraiser from 5 to 7 p.m. The borough notice lists the caterer as "Tasfully British." It is grab-and-go, so it fits a weeknight.
Together these two events fill the gap between Tavern Night on October 2 and the October 10 to 11 weekend. That leaves only one quiet week in the month, between the race and the Murder Mystery Dinner on October 17.
All of this traces back to one weather call in late September. Before it, Richard's Run would have taken place on September 27, after Ho-Ho-Kus Day on September 12 and the Ho-Ho-Kus Inn's Oktoberfest on September 23 to 26. Now it falls on the weekend of Harvest Fest. Anyone who saved the original date from the Education Foundation's page should change it to Sunday, October 11, at 8:30 a.m., starting at 333 Warren Avenue.
If you are thinking about listing a Ho-Ho-Kus home next spring, the town's fall calendar is part of what buyers will learn about it. Catherine Bossolina offers a private consultation this season to talk through strategic pricing and professional presentation, with senior-led service from start to finish. Request a Private Consultation.
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